Life of Being a Crown Prince in France - Chapter 1113 - 1019: The Smoke of War in South Africa
Chapter 1113: Chapter 1019: The Smoke of War in South Africa
Paris.
Palace of Versailles.
“The eight companies only managed to raise less than nine million francs in total?” Joseph frowned at Finance Minister Godan.
The latter had just reported that the newly established eight companies in the Rhineland, including the potash factory, had raised only 8.8 million francs after being listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange for a month and a half.
He was well aware of how much cash those financial giants in the Netherlands held, and even the ordinary people there, benefiting from the prosperous maritime trade, had some savings. But they were evidently not too keen on investing in the Rhineland.
Godan explained, “Your Highness, some of these factories are not even completed yet. Moreover, the Dutch seem to prefer investing in local industries.”
Joseph flipped through the report submitted by the Finance Minister and couldn’t help but shake his head upon seeing the section on “promotion”:
“Telling a story, I’ve said it so many times, you need to be able to tell a story.
“You merely dryly state that the company owns a coal mine in Cologne, detailing the annual revenue potential, which surely doesn’t catch people’s interest.
“You need to start from the origins of this coal mine. For example, thousands of years ago, the ink bottle of Jesus spilled there, transforming into a coal seam thousands of meters thick. Later, Mr. Estri found clues in his ancestral notes and indeed discovered a coal mine in Cologne. Now the French nobles are enamored with briquette stoves, and the Parisian fashion is to hold salons around such a fire. Briquette sales double every four months. Then add a segment where the Parisian noblewomen bid publicly for the last basket of coal for their salons, finally selling that coal for 100 francs…”
Godan watched as the Crown Prince’s eyes widened, and then hurriedly took out a notebook to start taking notes.
Joseph sighed: “Forget it, I’ll let Mr. Scheller go to Amsterdam.”
According to previous estimates, the Rhineland’s “first phase of financing” for this year was supposed to reach twenty million francs to be barely sufficient, now more than half was still lacking.
Godan continued, “Your Highness, the Milan stock exchange will open next month, and the situation will certainly be much better than in the Netherlands.”
Joseph nodded, “Make sure to have the rating company follow up. And, it’s about ’telling a story’…”
He was speaking when Eman gently knocked on the door: “Your Highness, Mr. Lavallette has something to report to you.”
“Let him in.”
The deputy director of the Security Bureau quickly stepped into the room, placing his hand on his chest to salute the Crown Prince, then glanced at Godan beside him and had to step forward a few paces, whispering: “Your Highness, the message just received indicates that London decided three weeks ago to occupy the Cape of Good Hope.
“Currently, the East India Company’s warships should be approaching Cape Town, and may even have started landing.”
Joseph frowned slightly.
England sees no value in the Netherlands anymore and is taking action to bite into the meat.
Well, historically it seems that the British did something similar when Napoleon invaded the Netherlands. It wasn’t until over a decade later, to leverage the Netherlands into joining the Anti-French Alliance, that they returned Cape of Good Hope.
After Napoleon’s army advanced into The Hague, the British again swallowed South Africa.
He gestured for the Security Director to share the intelligence with Godan—there wasn’t much secrecy needed about the British business.
Lavallette briefly described it and then turned to Joseph, “Your Highness, should we provide support to the Boers?”
The so-called “Boers” refer to the Dutch immigrants in South Africa.
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Because I went to the hospital today, I’m not finished coding yet, please refresh and check again in 40 minutes. The author sincerely apologizes.
Painfully reflecting, King William III of Prussia decided to reform the outdated military system. The chief architect he chose was the Prussian General Staff Chief Scharnhorst, renowned for establishing military schools and researching strategy. Previously, Scharnhorst was deeply influenced by the new military ideas of figures like Napoleon, but he also inherited the Prussian tradition of rationalism. He believed that wars in the new era would certainly be national wars, and only by combining universal conscription with a military educational system could a force with both quality and quantity be nurtured.
Scharnhorst also believed that victory could not rely solely on the emergence of some genius military leader but required a constant accumulation and refinement of military tradition and experience. With the assistance of Gneisenau, he established the Army General Staff, unifying the management of campaign planning, tactical training, and logistics support for the entire army. Many young staff officers gained training here, learning the latest ideas. Compared to the old Military Directorate controlled by the old nobility, the new General Staff’s work efficiency greatly improved.
Although Prussia had already begun implementing universal conscription, due to Napoleon’s restrictions on the total army size, they had no choice but to frequently rotate the regular army. Consequently, the Prussians inadvertently implemented an important principle of militarism: universal national military training and a comprehensive national reserve force.
Through Scharnhorst and others’ efforts, the Prussian Army abolished the aristocratic monopoly on officer promotion channels, banned corporal punishment of soldiers, and strengthened training and logistical support among other reform measures. Certainly, until the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the overall performance of the Prussian Army still couldn’t match the experienced and nationally enthusiastic French Army. For this, Scharnhorst established the second principle of Prussian militarism: large-scale annihilation warfare implemented based on scientific planning by the General Staff.
Scharnhorst believed that although the Prussian Army was not as well-trained as the French Army, it could rely on good planning and execution to concentrate sufficient superior forces on key battlefields. He intended to use hundreds of thousands of troops from the Anti-French Alliance to form three major armies, advancing and converging, ultimately encircling and annihilating the main forces of the French Army. Although the goal was not achieved, it did deal a heavy blow to Napoleon’s French Army in the Battle of Leipzig. The increasingly efficient Prussian Army also delivered the final blow to Napoleon at Waterloo.
Successors who adhered to Scharnhorst’s military principles continued to ponder during the wars on how to execute decisive annihilation battles with the General Staff. Finally, in the 1870s, Prussia, by expertly utilizing the widespread railway network, perfectly practiced advancing and converging. With the successive defeats of the Austrian and French armies, the Prussians possessed “invincible” land forces and became the top choice for many developing countries in strengthening their military might and wealth.
Through a national educational system, a large number of qualitatively qualified basic military personnel were cultivated, and on this foundation, a massive universal conscription-based army was formed. As a result, Japanese children not only faced nearly rote learning-style education but also had to undergo physical education similar to formal military training courses. As a result, even today, when Japanese schools have reduced military-style education content, the corresponding proportion is used to increase academic workload. This has also led to students in East Asia today experiencing greater academic pressure than their peers in other parts of the world. Simply put, people should remember Scharnhorst just for this.
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